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— Wooooong!

Countless circular symbols floated around Four.

“You look exhausted. I’ll make it easy for you right away.”

As he stretched out his hand, white waves of energy burst forth.

Each of these waves carried a significant amount of energy.

So much so that they filled my entire field of vision.

— Pzzzzzt!

With a loud, scorching sound from the ground.

— Kwooooom!

Every one of Four’s attacks was like this.

First, the wave arrived, delivering intense energy.

Even if one managed to dodge it, the waves resonated with each other, triggering a secondary explosion.

It was a technique that targeted precision strikes while also causing widespread collateral damage—just what one would expect from the intelligent Four.

Of course, having memorized the pattern, I was floating in the air, watching the explosion unfold.

“Phew.”

Holding the Blood Witch, I gently descended, adjusting the magnetic force of the ground.

That glowing bastard really went all out with that attack…

“The ground is still hot.”

“What is that movement technique?”

“I miss ondol… Hey, Four, do you want to be my personal floor heater later?”

“…Stop spouting nonsense. What exactly was that movement technique? You didn’t step on anything, and there was no magic acting against gravity. How did you float?”

Four looked at me as if he’d seen a ghost.

His gaze aside, he was bombarding me with questions.

“This is an early sta— Never mind. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”

His face turned red with frustration.

“Are you mocking me?”

“No, I’m serious. Even if I explained, you wouldn’t get it.”

He didn’t seem to believe me.

He gritted his teeth, as if I’d just provoked him.

A little unfair, honestly.

I didn’t explain because I knew he wouldn’t understand.

But, well, if I accidentally baited him into getting riled up, that’s a win for me.

Even if his eyes were turning a little wild.

— Papapapapap!

He unleashed small orbs.

They shot toward me like bullets—fast and razor-sharp.

The Blood Witch summoned a crimson shield, blocking them all.

It was an unexpected sneak attack, so the damage was minimal.

“Damn it!”

His composure shattered, Four cursed in anger.

At that moment, one of his greatest strengths—his cool-headedness—was broken.

Yet my gaze wasn’t on him.

No, anyone would have been looking behind him.

— □□□□□□□□!!!

The Divine Entity of the Void was approaching.

It emitted an unidentifiable sound.

Or could that even be called a sound?

It felt as if my very soul was trembling.

“Ughhh!”

Even Four was writhing in pain.

If I didn’t have my title, I’d be in the same state.

The Blood Witch only needed to cover her ears.

‘Damn it.’

I couldn’t help but wonder again—what kind of monster is that thing?

Every time it approached, it felt like it was getting bigger.

As if it was a physical embodiment of despair.

Just looking at it made me feel like everything was about to be erased.

This wasn’t human. No, it wasn’t even something of this world.

It was divinity itself.

At this point, it was practically cosmic horror.

“…I need to buy time to prepare.”

I clenched my teeth.

Taking down Four as quickly as possible was the best move.

The problem was—

“Kuhahahaha!”

Even with blood-tears streaming from his eyes due to the entity’s scream, Four was laughing.

Of course, he wasn’t going down that easily.

He was, after all, a long-range sorcerer.

— Keeeeeeeek!

Countless Voids surged in front of him, acting as his shield.

It seemed that the Divine Entity of the Void’s scream inflicted damage on humans but buffed the Voids.

As the Voids locked down both me and the Blood Witch—

“Die!”

Once again, spheres of magic appeared around him.

“Shit.”

This time, there was no time to dodge.

— Kwaaaaaang!

The orbs struck directly, shattering even the Blood Witch’s shield and exploding violently.

The remnants of the shattered shield.

The remains of the Void creatures.

The debris of the earth.

All of it mixed together, scattering into the air in a great explosion.

Thudududuk.

Like a torrential downpour, the debris rained down.

“Too simple.”

I smirked as I heard Four chuckling to himself.

The moment all the debris settled—

I made sure that Four could see me standing there, perfectly fine, still smiling.

These things were all about presentation.

As the dust cleared, he remained frozen, the smirk wiped off his face, mumbling to himself.

“H-How… this time…?”

I flicked my coat lightly toward him.

His pupils widened in shock.

“You! That’s—!”

“The Bloodstained Balmacaan. A coat perfect for situations like this. What was it again? The fifth of the Bloodstone Cult? Evan, that guy used it.”

At my words, Four’s expression contorted violently.

“Grgh… grgggh…!!”

Foaming at the mouth, he let out strange noises.

What the hell? What’s wrong with him?

As I looked on in confusion, the Blood Witch whispered to me.

“They were close friends—Four and Five.”

Oh.

I awkwardly lowered my coat, scratching the back of my head.

I hadn’t meant to insult him this badly.

“…My bad.”

“I-Ian… You… I swear I will—!”

“So, even Bloodstone Cult members had friends? That’s kind of lame.”

“How dare you—!”

“I’ll send you to your friend.”

“…?”

“Four.”

The moment I spoke his name, I shot my hand into the air.

Instead of chanting, I infused power into my magic through movement.

— Pabababak!

Ether, previously hidden around Four, surged forward, piercing through his body.

He tried to react, but it was too late.

Blood poured from his arms and legs.

“AAARGH!”

He staggered backward.

At the same time, countless Voids poured out from behind him, moving to shield him.

“Damn it.”

The Voids exploited the brief gap caused by my magic casting, crushing into my defenses.

Their claws closed in, reaching toward me.

At this rate, I’d have to sacrifice at least a fingertip to protect my body—

— Shwaaaaak!

The Blood Witch’s whip tore through the Voids mercilessly, reducing them to shredded meat.

I seized the opening and took a large step back.

With a sliver of space and a fraction of time secured, I cast another spell.

— Pababak!

Metallic spears, pulled from the earth, shot out and skewered every Void within a 10-meter radius.

With an opening secured for high-tier magic, I just needed to complete my incantation—

“Like I’d let you!”

— Pzzzzzt!

A massive sphere floated around Four.

It rotated clockwise, filled with swirling waves of energy.

Why did that sight send a chill down my spine?

‘…Of course.’

It resembled my ultimate technique—Infinite Cataclysm.

The reason Four could use that—

Well, it was obvious.

The whole reason I conceived Infinite Cataclysm in the first place was after witnessing Four’s wave-based abilities.

We both started from the same fundamental idea, so we inevitably arrived at a similar conclusion.

Given how Four obsessed over efficiency, it made sense he’d refine it further into his own technique.

“Die together, traitors!”

He hurled the wave sphere at me.

At the same time—

— Kyaaaaaah!

The Voids charged forward.

There was no way to dodge.

I had to stop that compressing sphere somehow—before it reached its critical point.

I left the Voids to the Blood Witch.

“Hold them back, Blood Witch!”

“Of course, dear.”

The day had finally come when I had to rely on her.

And even more surprising—she actually nodded in response.

Truly, I’d lived long enough to see everything.

— Wooooong!

I focused solely on the sphere that Four had thrown.

I had to come up with a solution before it reached its critical point.

Dodging?

Impossible—I was surrounded by Voids.

A shield?

In a battle of this level, no defense could surpass an attack.

That left only one option.

‘Reverse calculation.’

I had to analyze his magic and create a counter-formula to neutralize it—like mixing acid and alkali to cancel each other out.

— Fwoosh!

For a fleeting moment, the sheer overload from constant observation and calculation pushed my mind to the brink.

But I had to push through.

If I could endure this moment—

— Pzzt, Pzzzzt!

I would reach enlightenment.

A flash of inspiration struck my mind like lightning.

A blueprint for a spell formed in my head.

And just like breathing, my mana circuits aligned naturally to follow the design.

“Die!”

By then, Four’s sphere had reached its limit.

He grinned and shouted triumphantly.

That was as far as his grin went.

— Paaaat!

The moment he saw the black sphere I had conjured, his face drained of color.

“W-What!?”

Did his instincts warn him?

Did he realize that if our spheres collided, they would cancel each other out?

Their surfaces touched.

— Kugugugugu!

A massive pressure burst outward.

Nearby Voids were either crushed into nothingness or flung away.

An erratic, chaotic clash—utterly unpredictable.

And then—

— …

A hollow silence settled over the battlefield.

Everything had vanished.

His spell.

And mine.

“W-Wh… Wh-what…”

The ever-so-slick-tongued Four, who had always been quick with his words, stood speechless.

He had been so focused on my magic that he hadn’t even noticed the magic circle I was drawing beneath him by manipulating the earth.

Too easy.

As I was thinking that, he suddenly shouted.

“H-How did you dismantle my spell!?”

“You sound just like Evan.”

“Y-You mean… Evan was defeated like this too…?”

“I’ve been making good use of his magic.”

I moved my shadow, waving at Four mockingly.

“Say hello, Four. It’s Evan’s magic. Feels nice to see an old friend’s spell, doesn’t it?”

Hmm.

Even I thought that was a bit harsh after saying it.

But who cared?

My opponent was a Bloodstone Cultist trying to sacrifice all of Lichten.

“Ian, y-you—!”

His white eyes were bloodshot with rage.

I grinned at him.

“Since when were we on a first-name basis?”

— Pababak!

His shadow shot up like chains, pulling his feet downward.